ALBUM REVIEW: 2 Alivë by Yeat

Feb 22, 2022Feb 22, 2022 John Peterson 0 Comments dylan stevens, yeat

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WRITTEN BY: Dylan Stevens

21-year-old rapper Yeat has had a very interesting 12 months. After numerous songs have gone viral on TikTok—including “Monëy so big,” “Gët Busy,” and “Sorry Bout That”—Yeat has released his new 20-track album 2 Alivë on February 18. The California-born artist has music on streaming services dating back four years but he insists that he has been at it since 2015. In a long video interview with Our Generation Music, Yeat cited Kanye West, Young Thug, and Future as his biggest influences. This might seem obvious after hearing the rapper’s erratic flows and autotuned croons multi-layered overtop of F1LTHY type-beats, but something about his unique style has led the internet to frame him as the emerging face of underground trap music. Arguably the most important influence Yeat has credited is T-Pain. Over a decade after the pop-rap icon was criticized for twisting up the dial on his autotune preset, generations of internet rappers have belted their way to rap stardom using the same method. Yeat is no different, but on 2 Alivë, it is clear that there is more to Yeat than some knocking beats and emotive flows.

On February 11, Yeat premiered his video for “Still countin” a week before the album would drop. The video was produced by Cole Bennett, the videographer behind viral videos like Juice Wrld’s “Lucid Dreams” and two different “Thotiana” remixes from Blueface. “Still countin” is a banger. A few melodic keys loop over a fuzzy synth while the beat warms up. Then the song drops with the inclusion of some heavy 808s and an alarming synth note, blasting the listener out of their chair. Yeat begins to exude uncontainable energy all over the song using reverberated croons, echoed adlibs, and boisterous lines about living in the sky or filling the Fountain of Youth with Wockhardt cough syrup.

The end of the video leads right into a snippet for the song “Poppin,” incidentally the first track on 2 Alivë. “Poppin”—produced by BenjiCold—is one of the best songs on the album. Yeat wastes no time immediately assaulting the listener with a gothic synth melody complemented by glassy keys draped over saturated 808 punches. There is one moment to breathe before the beat drops again as Yeat exclaims “It ain’t been a day that I ain’t been high, b***h, Percs’, I pop ’em / Yeah, they told me that they broke, that’s not my problem.” “Poppin” perfectly shows off Yeat’s ability to lodge himself into every pocket of his beats.

Yeat’s beat selection is one of his most recognizable qualities. Mostly defined by synthetic keys, dark bell hits, and powerful 808s, tracks can begin to feel repetitive if they lose momentum. Yeat’s affinity for exhaustive hooks and verses results in many of his songs reaching the three minute mark. This may be a welcomed change for some who have been disillusioned by the brevity of songs released by contemporary artists like Playboi Carti, but it can make the 63 minute run time of 2 Alivë occasionally feel bloated.

To highlight some tracks where the formula shines, “Doublë” and “On tha linë” at tracks seven and eight find Yeat effortlessly floating over more memorable production. “Doublë” might just knock harder than any song on the album. Behind 808s that sound like they are shaking your headphones and some reversed, warbly pianos, Yeat lays down smooth triplet lines one after another. “On tha linë” keeps the drums simple, speeding up the tempo into a soft, chopped synth loop. As one of 2 Alivë’s shortest songs, Yeat’s cold, subdued energy becomes passionate before rapping, “He done put everything on the line, on the kid, now he end up missing / When you got a lot of money coming in, then you better start the big tipping.”

Another track where Yeat’s charisma shines over captivating production is on “Taliban.” Wasting no time once again, Yeat instantly states, “I just walked in with the Taliban,” before BenjiCold’s producer tag even finishes. Blooping keys roll all over the beat in between glitching chords and soft 808s as Yeat again calmly wrangles the track before bringing energy into the verse, quickly rattling off triplet flows about sticking to his business. Moving on to “Call më,” the song opens with a high-pitched ditty that sounds like the ringtone of an old Motorola flip phone. Yeat shows off a more tender side, singing for a love to just call him back. The song reverses and morphs before Yeat passionately belts “You say you fell in love, then you can’t tell me all of that.” His singing is not quite up to T-Pain’s standards, but it is nice to hear that kind of effort and emotion from the young rapper. Yeat’s 2 Alivë has been his most anticipated project to date. For many, this will be their first official introduction to the young artist. While his beat selection and lyrical inflections are very reminiscent of his contemporaries—Playboi Carti and Young Thug most notably—Yeat does bring a new kind of energy that Generation Z has very clearly resonated with. His long-winded and memorable flows partnered with a love for powerful, synthetic production have defined Yeat as the next big trap artist to watch out for.

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